


Demon in the Deep

by LoveisYonduBlue



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Comics), Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Demon, Elemental - Freeform, Ghost Adventures - Freeform, Ghosts, Halloween, Horror, Multi, Scary, Spooky, ghost ship - Freeform, ghost story, it's october, spooky season
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-09 05:28:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20848268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoveisYonduBlue/pseuds/LoveisYonduBlue
Summary: Stakar's ship retrieves a distress call from a seemingly abandoned ship. Yondu, Krugarr, Martinex, and Charlie go to check it out, and find some spooky goings-on.





	Demon in the Deep

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this for about two Halloweens now and finally finished it. It's only October 1 but I didn't want to wait the whole month to post it, so here you go.
> 
> Inspired by a portion of Ghost Adventures’ Season 9, Episode 3, when Billy had a strange encounter that was recorded on the Kinect. It freaked me out more than anything on any ghost show I’ve seen. Watch the moment here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F5eXe_bb8M

The Navs intercepted a distress call in the Deep, between two jump points just beyond the borders of Skrull territory. It turns out to be a mid-class cruiser, hanging motionless and dark in the black of space. It doesn’t look Skrullish in design, nor Kree, or Xandarian, or anything that Stakar recognizes for that matter.

They run a scan to see if there are lifeforms aboard, but as soon as they get near the ship, their systems start to malfunction and all they get is a haze of static and mixed signals. Stakar orders that the _Starhawk_ maintain a distance from the stranded ship, in case it’s emitting some kind of electromagnetic field, but he orders a small team aboard to check out the distress signal. If they don’t find any survivors, they can at least loot the place for anything of value.

Yondu finds himself on board with Martinex, Charlie, and Krugarr. Charlie and Martinex take the Control Room and the first three decks, and Yondu and Krugarr pair off to take Decks 4 through 6. They have masks and enough air for six hours a piece, but it turns out there’s plenty aboard – at least in the main hangar where they start out.

Yondu has been with the Ravagers for just over a year, but he hasn't really been around the mysterious Krugarr much. He’d scoffed at the idea of a sorcerer at first, but since coming into Stakar's crew, he's seen Krugarr disappear into portals of light and make wheels of fire with his hands, so if that's not magic, he doesn't know what it is. The sorcerer's mind seems worlds away half the time, but he's always been kind to Yondu, so he doesn't mind being paired up with him.

"Think we'll find anythin' good on this junker?" Yondu asks, sweeping his flashlight across the empty corridor they’re walking along. 

_<I… am not certain.>_

There’s an unusual hesitation in the telepathic speech. Yondu turns to him, raising an eyebrow. “Whatsa matter?”

_<I feel a strange energy emanating from this place.>_

“Good strange, or bad strange?” Yondu asks with a half grin.

The reply comes quietly and solemn. _<I am not certain.>_

“Well, it’s dark as hell in here,” Yondu comments, unsure how to respond to that last statement. He can see fairly well in dark places, but something about the layout of this ship, or the position in space it’s in is making the shadows seem deeper than he’s accustomed to. The flashlight only does so much. He lifts his wrist com. “Hey Sparkles! How ‘bout some damn light, huh?”

Yondu feels Krugarr smiling at the edge of his mind.

_“We’re workin’ on it,”_ comes Martinex’s reply, his usually smooth tone impeded just a little with irritation.

Krugarr turns suddenly, and Yondu instinctively falls into a half-crouch, blaster ready to fire in his hand. “What?”

_<I thought I heard something.>_

Yondu suppresses a noise of frustration at the Sorcerer’s vague reply. “What kinda somethin’?” he hisses.

_<Breathing.>_

There’s something about the way Krugarr says it that causes Yondu to shift uneasily. “Maybe it’s a survivor?”

_<…Perhaps.>_

“Marty, work faster,” Yondu says into his wrist com. No sooner does speak than the entire hallway is illuminated, if dimly. He looks down the hallway, in the direction Krugarr had been staring. “Ya see anythin’?”

After a moment of pause, _<No. Let us go and find the storage bays. Any valuables will be held there.>_

“Yer the boss.”

A short time later, they’ve reached what looks like crews’ quarters. Several of the doors are locked from the inside. Yondu and Krugarr knock on all the doors, but they don’t receive any answers. Yondu is at the end of the hall, and raps on the last locked door with his flashlight, the loud metallic ring echoing coldly through the deck. He waits for a moment but hears no movement inside. He bends to inspect the hinges and locking mechanism. “Guess no one’s home. Should I try to blast one a’ these open?” When Krugarr doesn’t respond right away, Yondu looks up.

The Sorcerer is slumped slightly against one of the walls, a hand to his head.

“Krugarr? Whatsa matter?”

_<I feel dizzy. Cold.>_

“Why don’tcha put on yer mask? Ya might be low on oxygen or somethin’.”

Krugarr nods and reaches to his ear, activating the oxygen mask which builds itself around his face. Just as this is done, there’s a loud, obscure sound from the other end of the hall. They both turn with a jump.

“Somebody there?” Yondu calls.

Another noise, a loud knocking sound, erupts just behind them. Yondu turns, slamming his back against the nearest wall, blaster trained the shadowy interior of a room across the way. He swallows. “Were- weren’t that jus’ closed?”

_<Yes.>_

Yondu looks up and down the hallway but sees nothing. He glances at Krugarr. “Cover me.”

The Sorcerer nods.

Blaster at the ready, Yondu approaches the room, and edges inside. His eyes immediately seek out hiding places and alternative means of escape, but the only exit is the door he came in through. It’s a small, square room, with a pair of bunks, a dresser, and a desk. He moves in a little farther – it looks like there’s something in the corner, hidden behind the dresser, a shadow darker than the rest. Yondu trains his flashlight on it, but there’s nothing there. When he lowers the light again, the darker shape seems to have disappeared. He shakes his head and after one last sweep of the room for valuables, retreats back into the hallway.

“Nothin’ there. Want me to try and git these other doors open?”

_<Yondu, don't move,>_ comes Krugarr's urgent voice in his mind, and he freezes. _<You may speak quietly, but don't move.>_

"Why?" he asks, softly.

_<There is something by your side, below the level of your knee.>_

With the slowest, most cautious movements, Yondu directs his eyes downward, but doesn't see anything. "There's nothin' there."

_<Yes there is.>_

_Somethin' outta my spectrum, then,_ Yondu thinks, swallowing. "What is it?"

_<I...I don't know.>_

A frigid and uneasy sweat spreads like a blanket over Yondu's skin. Krugarr is ancient, older than even Stakar and Aleta, who are decades older than they physically appear. He's wise, knowledgeable, and has seen more in his long lifetime than all the crew combined. But he doesn't _know_.

Frankly, that freaks Yondu out.

"O-okay," he says, a little shakily. "Whatsit look like?"

_<I can't tell. I’ve never seen anything like this. It's…shapeless, and- be careful! It's reaching for your hand!>_

Yondu's breath catches, and he looks down. He stills sees nothing, but the fingers of his left hand begin to tingle, a little unpleasantly, like it's falling asleep - then the sensation is suddenly gone. He lets out a trembling breath, then two things happen simultaneously. 

He feels a coldness sweep over his shoulders and the back of his neck, and down his left arm, and Krugarr cries out, _<The ceiling – it – no - it’s climbing up your body!>_

Yondu screams and jumps away, backwards, sweeping his hands over his shoulders and head, trying to rid himself of whatever has a hold of him. There's a lungful of air so cold it seems to freeze him from within, and then something unseen and _strong_ pushes him backwards so forcefully that he falls flat onto his back.

There's a whine as he's surrounded by gold and red sparks, and the floor is gone; he's falling - and he ends up on his face in an unfamiliar hallway. He gasps and rolls over. "Kru-Krugarr?" he leaps to his feet, just in time to see the portal wink out of existence. He’s alone.

It's dark here, and the air seems thin. He presses the device over his ear, and his mask forms over the lower half of his face, giving him lungfuls of slightly warmer, oxygen-rich air. He takes stock of his surroundings and presses himself up against the nearest wall. _Breathe. Yer fine. Ya gotta get back to the team._ He raises his wrist com to his mouth. "Krugarr, it's Yondu. Come in. Are ya okay?”

Static.

He dials Martinex. "Marty, come in!" Nothing.

He switches the frequency again. “Charlie? Dammit, answer me! Krugarr and me got separated – I can’t get a hold of him or Marty. _Can ya hear me?”_

Again, silence.

"Shit." He taps the wrist com aggressively with a finger, but nothing happens. He stands there, hands on hips for a second, then nods. _Okay. Calm down. Ya jus' need to get yer bearings and find yer crew. Ain't like they're gonna leave without ya. _He might have thought they would, once. But he knows better now.

He shivers, still trying to shake off the chill of the thing that attacked him. The fear in Krugarr's voice was violently unsettling. He looks down the hall in one direction, then the other. _Jus' gotta pick one__…Left._ He turns that way.

"Who are you?" a voice asks.

He draws his blaster on instinct, whirling, and barely avoids pulling the trigger on a little girl standing at the end of the hallway.

She moves back a couple steps but doesn't seem very afraid.

"Shit!" he exclaims, lowering his blaster. "Where'd you come from, kid?"

"I was hiding near the Control Room lockers. Are you here to rescue me?"

"Huh?" Yondu straightens up. "Oh. Yeah. Yeah, we're here to save ya. We got yer signal."

The girl smiles and runs forward. Her eyes are large and gentle, her head ending in a mass of fleshy tendrils rather than hair. She looks gaunt, pale - although with her chalk-white skin, it's hard to tell. Yondu bends down to one knee and holds out his hands, the comforting way he's seen Stakar pose when rescuing child slaves. The girl loops her arms around his neck. Her touch is cool and light, but not icy. Not like that - that whatever it was. "Are ya all alone?" Yondu asks, standing with her in his arms. She’s light, almost too light. “When’d ya eat last?” he asks without waiting for an answer to his first question, and begins heading in the direction he’d been going. She squirms in his arms, clutching at his leathers.

“Not that way!” she whispers urgently. “That’s where the Bad Thing is.”

The way she says _Bad Thing_ sends those same chills racing down his back. “Bad Thing?” he asks, stopping in his tracks.

She nods solemnly. "It’s scary. Go that way." She points over his shoulder, towards the right, from whence she'd come.

He shrugs and turns. "Okay. Guess ya probably know the ship better than me, huh?"

She nods.

“Oh,” he says with a slightly nervous little chuckle, “Guess I didn’t introduce myself, huh. My name’s Yondu. Ya got a name, kid?”

“Vaswaari, but everybody calls me Waari.”

“Waari, huh? Okay. Well, Waari…this uh. This _Bad Thing._ What is it?”

She curls up a little smaller in his arms and shrugs. “Dunno,” she says. “We picked up a man that was floating in the Deep, and I heard Dadda say it was inside him.” She looks up at him, brows drawn down and eyes frightened. “It’s _mean_. It started making people go crazy. Mama and Dadda hid me in a locker near the Control Room so I’d be safe. Number 211. They didn’t come back to get me yet.” She drops her head against his shoulder. “I hope they’re okay.”

Yondu pats the girl’s back awkwardly, trying to remember what Martinex or Charlie says to scared kids. He’s not good at this. “Yeah, well. We’re here now, it’s gonna be fine. My friends are probably regroupin’ in the Control Room, so that’s where we’ll go. Do ya know how to get there?”

She nods. “Keep going this way.”

Yondu follows Waari’s directions, going down the hall until reaches a T intersection, and she guides him to the right, then up a flight of stairs. When they reach an intersection of hallways, she pauses, putting a finger in her mouth.

“Whatsa matter?”

She looks into his face with big eyes. “I don’t know which way to go. I can’t remember.”

_Great._ Yondu suppresses a sigh and gently sets her on her feet before bringing his wrist com up to his mouth, switching on all channels. “Marty? Charlie? Krugarr? Can anybody hear me?” Again, he gets nothing but crackling static. _“Shit_ \- oops.” He glances down at the girl, but she doesn’t seem to notice or care that he cussed. “Well,” he says, folding his legs underneath him and sliding down against the nearest wall, “Why don’t we take a break while ya think ‘bout which way to go.” Removing his oxygen mask, he finds that the air is a little better here. He retrieves a flask of water from his hip, and a couple of protein bars. He hands her one and offers the water after he’s taken a swig.

Waari shakes her head, sitting cross-legged before him. “It’s okay. I’m don’t feel hungry or thirsty.”

“Ya sure, kid? Ya can’t have eaten much ‘round here.”

She nods and smiles at him.

“A’ight, suit yerself,” he says uncertainly. “If ya change yer mind, lemme know.” He munches on his snack and has just taken the last bite when the girl stands suddenly, eyes wide. He leaps to his feet, the protein bar suddenly dry in his mouth. He swallows, and it goes down hard. “What’s wrong?”

“The Bad Thing,” she whispers. “It’s coming.”

“Shit. Which direction do we go, kid?” he asks, swinging her up into his arms.

“Um – umm – that way!” She doesn’t seem completely confident, but Yondu doesn’t really care, as long as it’s away from that - _whatever it is_. He picks up is pace; she whimpers. "It's following us!” she cries. “We need to hide!"

Switching her to his other arm and balancing her on his hip, Yondu starts trying all the doors lining the corridor. Finally, one gives way, and he ducks inside, closing and drawing the bolt behind him. He turns, only to draw in a gasping breath. "Oh gods."

"What-" Waari begins, turning to see, but he quickly tucks her head against his shoulder. "Nothin', girl. Jus'...jus' close yer eyes, okay? Don't open 'em until I tell ya." She presses her forehead into his chest, small arms wrapped tight around his neck. Watching his footing, Yondu carefully picks his way around the room to the door on the other side.

In his path lie at least a dozen skeletons, all their bodies contorted in strange poses and bony mouths agape in silent screams.

_How did this girl survive, when all the rest of these people didn't?_ He roves his eyes over the remnants of their torn and tattered uniforms. _Unless that thing out there ate 'em all?_ He swallows, holding the child just a little tighter. "So...so uh. How long were ya hidin' in that locker, darlin'?" he asks, trying to distract himself just as much as the girl.

"A long time," she murmurs into his shoulder, "The door was stuck and I couldn't open it at first, it felt like a really long time. I got really hungry and thirsty and then I just got sleepy. When I woke up, the door was unstuck and I got out, but I couldn't find my Mama or Dadda. Maybe if I go back to the lockers where I was hiding, I’ll find them. Will you help me?” She begins to raise her head, but he cups a large hand over it, gently pushing her back to his shoulder.

"Keep them eyes closed," he reminds her as he steps over a pair of skeletons. He glances down at them as he moves past. Based on the form of their bodies and heads, it looks like they might be the same species as the girl, and his heart seems to squeeze in his chest. "Yeah, kid. I'll do what I can to help ya."

He climbs swiftly up the small stairwell to the exit door and tries the handle. It's locked from the outside. "Dammit," he mutters under his breath. He jiggles the handle, but it's no use. He makes sure the girl is clear by shifting her far over on his hip and rams his shoulder against the door. It trembles a little, but still holds. He tries again - and as he does so, there's a loud vague noise from the back of the room, and the lights overhead flicker.

Yondu whirls, clutching the girl in his arms. The door they'd originally come through suddenly shakes and rattles, as if someone is aggressively handling the doorknob.

Waari whimpers. "I'm scared."

"Gonna be okay," he says, though his voice trembles just a little. _Git a hold of yerself, Yondu. Yer a grown man and a flarkin’ Ravager. Ya were a battle slave fer 20 years. Ya can survive that, ya can survive this._ He entertains these thoughts to make himself feel better, but he knows he's never faced anything like this in any battlefield, arena, or training ground. This is beyond his realm of understanding, this unseen, supernatural force. He glances at the exit door, and at the girl, then lowers her to the ground. "I'm gonna put ya down, but ya keep them eyes closed, ya hear?"

She nods, and he steers her behind him. "Ya might wanna cover yer ears too," he says, and she does so. Drawing his blaster, he takes careful aim at the door handle, he fires once, twice, and the handle is obliterated. The shaking behind them has been growing steadily louder, and now it booms as it shakes on its hinges, as if someone is not only jiggling the handle but pounding on it with heavy fists. Yondu seizes the child and kicks his door open, racing as quickly as he can down the cold hallways. The air is thin here, and he activates his mask again. "Ya can open yer eyes," he pants. "Where to?"

She blinks, looking around wildly, and points to a stairway down the hallway to their right. "Up there! Hurry!"

The hall seems to stretch forever, the stairs never seeming to grow any nearer. Yondu holds Waari tighter, running for all he’s worth. He hears a sound like tearing, screeching, bending metal, and a _bang_ so loud it’s almost an explosion.

_“It’s coming!”_ the girl shrieks.

At last Yondu reaches the stairs, and flies up them, but he feels something cold and unyielding as marble close around his ankle, and he trips. “Run, kid! Run!”

At that moment, there’s a whining staticky crackle on his wrist com. _“—du-! –Hear – me?”_

Even though it’s broken, Yondu can make out Martinex’s voice. “Marty!” he screams into the com. “Help! Help me! _Shit!”_ He kicks wildly at the invisible force that’s got his legs. Waari is tugging at his leathers, trying to help him get up. Clutching the stair rail for dear life, Yondu turns over on his back to try and face this Thing.

He has a fleeting image of a shadowy, hazy, shifting form with eyes of pure light before the area behind him erupts into red and gold sparks. He feels a strong pair of hands on him, pulling him from behind, through the magic circle.

“Got him! Close it! _Close it!”_

“No! No, wait! Kid!” Yondu stretches his hand towards the closing circle, but it disappears out of existence.

“Yondu, it’s okay! You’re safe!”

“No! It ain’t okay!” he screams, tearing himself out of Charlie’s grasp. “We gotta go back fer her!”

“Who?” Martinex asks, laying a hand on his shoulder.

“_Who?! _The girl! The lil' girl, that thing's gonna git her!"

"There was no girl," Martinex says, exchanging wide-eyed looks with an exhausted Krugarr. "We had a clear view of you from behind, and you were alone."

"Wh-what?" he asks. He can feel the blood draining from his face. "But – but – no! There _was_ a lil' girl. Her name is Waari, she’s still down there! She’s a survivor!”

“Yondu,” Martinex says gently, taking him by the shoulders, “We found the ship’s logs. This ship has been out here for almost seventy years. There’s no way anyone could survive that long out here. Especially with – with that _thing_ that you and Krugarr ran into. It was killing everyone, making them go insane.”

“But I _saw_ her! We talked! I held her in m’ arms! She’s been hidin’ in –” Yondu jumps as a tingling feeling races down his neck, and he spins on his heel. On the opposite side of the hallway is a row of lockers.

It’s as though Yondu’s feet have a mind of their own as they guide him numbly towards locker 211. With trembling fingers, he undoes the latch keeping it closed.

Charlie catches Yondu as he reels away from the open locker, palms digging into his eyes as if he’s trying to rid his brain of an image.

Martinex moves closer to inspect what’s inside and draws in a sharp breath. Seated in the cramped space is the small skeleton of a child. On the faded, peeling patch the shoulder, he can just make out the name _Vaswaari._

“We’re going back to the _Starhawk,”_ he says, backing away. “_Now.”_

Stakar is never able to get a straight report from any of them. None of them seem keen on talking about it. At Yondu’s request, he agrees to retrieve the child’s body and set it to rest, but it is the last time that any of them ever speak of the ghostly ship. Before leaving, Krugarr has Mainframe alter the distress signal remotely.

_Danger. Do not approach this ship. Avoid at all costs, if you value your life._


End file.
